Elton Bauer, Vasco Peixoto de Freitas, Niubis Mustelier, Eva Barreira and Sara Stingl de Freitas
Infrared thermography is increasingly being used to diagnose pathologies in buildings, such as façade defects. The purpose of this paper is to assess the results reproducibility…
Abstract
Purpose
Infrared thermography is increasingly being used to diagnose pathologies in buildings, such as façade defects. The purpose of this paper is to assess the results reproducibility and the equipment influence on the measurements. To do so, it was defined as case study the assessment of rendering delamination.
Design/methodology/approach
Two infrared cameras of different makers were used to detect the presence of defects deliberately created in specimens. The tests were done in the laboratory with a heat source. The defects were detected through a temperature gradient between the zones with and without defect.
Findings
With this thermographic imaging, it was possible to identify the defects in the specimen both qualitatively and quantitatively. The results were found to be reproducible in the three cycles performed. The influence of the equipment on the results was of little significance for the quantitative assessment criterion “temperature difference between zones with and without defect”, but for the criterion “absolute surface temperature”, the difference in the results yielded by the two cameras was around 1.8°C.
Originality/value
The results suggest that there is reproducibility of the measurements, considering both the qualitative and quantitative approach, when assessing delamination, irrespective of the maker of the equipment used. The influence of the equipment on the results depends on the quantitative assessment criterion used.
Details
Keywords
Jana Hili, Desmond Pace and Simon Grima
The uncertainty as to whether investments in riskier and less efficient markets allow managers to ‘beat the market’ remains a question to which answers are required. Accordingly…
Abstract
Purpose
The uncertainty as to whether investments in riskier and less efficient markets allow managers to ‘beat the market’ remains a question to which answers are required. Accordingly, the purpose of this chapter is to offer new insights on portfolios of the US, European and Emerging Market (‘EM’) domiciled equity mutual funds whose objectives are the investment in emerging economies, and specifically analyses two main issues: alpha generation and the influence of the funds’ characteristics on their risk-adjusted performance.
Methodology/approach
The dataset is made up a survivorship-bias controlled sample of 137 equity funds over the period January 2004 to December 2014, which are then grouped into equally weighted portfolios according to the scheme’s origin. The Jensen’s (1968) Single-Factor model along with the Fama and French’s (1993) and Carhart’s (1997) multifactor models are employed to authenticate results and answer both research questions.
Findings
Research analysis reveals that EM exposed fund managers fail to collectively outperform the market. It thereby offers ground to believe that the emerging world is very close to being efficient, proving that the Efficient Market Hypothesis (‘EMH’) ideal exists in this scenario where market inefficiency might only be a perception of market participants as any apparent opportunity to achieve above-average returns is speedily snapped up by very active managers. Overall these managers take a conservative approach to portfolio construction, whereby they are more unperturbed investing in large cap equity funds so as to lessen somewhat the exposure towards risks associated with liquidity, stability and volatility.
Furthermore, the findings show that large-sized equity portfolios have the lead over the medium and small-sized competitors, whilst the high cost and mature collective investment vehicles enjoy an alpha which although is negative is superior to their peers. The riskiest funds generated the lowest alpha, and thereby produced doubts as to whether investors should accept a higher risk for the hope of earning higher returns, at least when aiming to gain an exposure into the emerging world.
Originality/value
Mutual fund performance is not an innovative topic so to speak. Nonetheless, researchers and academia have centred their efforts on appraising the behaviour of fund managers domiciled primarily in developed and more efficient economics, leaving the emerging region highly uncovered in this respect. This study, therefore aims at crafting meaningful contributions to the literature as well as to the practical perspective.
Details
Keywords
Marta Alvarez and Javier Rodríguez
The purpose of this paper is to examine the performance and diversification value of water-related funds. As pollution, climate change and accelerated population growth threaten…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the performance and diversification value of water-related funds. As pollution, climate change and accelerated population growth threaten water resources worldwide, such resources have become a sought-after asset. For most investors, it is impractical to physically hold water as part of a portfolio; therefore, an open question is how to better gain exposure to this asset. The authors propose a look at water-related mutual funds, an issue not found addressed in the literature. In addition to the investment potential of these funds, investors might be drawn to them as part of a more comprehensive socially responsible agenda.
Design/methodology/approach
In the present study, the authors identify and measure the risk-adjusted performance and diversification value of open-end funds dedicated to investments in water-related securities. Jensen’s alpha is used to measure risk-adjusted performance, whereas diversification value is examined by implementing a methodology widely used in the mutual fund literature.
Findings
Consistent with previous studies on the performance of ethical or socially responsible mutual funds, the authors found that their sample of water-related mutual funds neither outperform nor underperform two benchmarks. However, the authors also found that they offer potential diversification gains for international mutual funds’ portfolios.
Research limitations/implications
Open-end water-related mutual funds have only been recently created, and currently, very few funds are available to investors. These facts limit the sample size and the length of the return series examined.
Originality/value
The authors have not found a paper that examines the performance and diversification value of water-related mutual funds. These funds present themselves as a practical way for individual investors to gain exposure to the commodity of water.
Details
Keywords
Ann-Ngoc Nguyen, Muhammad Sadiq Shahid and David Kernohan
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of investor confidence on mutual fund performance in two relatively vulnerable but leading emerging markets, India and…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of investor confidence on mutual fund performance in two relatively vulnerable but leading emerging markets, India and Pakistan.
Design/methodology/approach
A pooled ordinary least squared (OLS) model is used to look at two alternative measures of investor confidence and test for the relationship between investor confidence and mutual fund returns. To check the robustness of the findings, the authors also implement two-stage least squares and generalized method of moments techniques to control for unobserved heterogeneity, simultaneity and dynamic endogeneity problems in the regressors.
Findings
The paper finds that the returns of mutual funds are positively associated with investor confidence and an interaction effect exists between investor confidence and persistence in performance. The paper also confirms that returns from mutual funds are associated with different fund characteristics such as fund size, turnover, expense, liquidity, performance persistence and the fund’s age. These findings remain robust to alternative model specifications and measures of investor confidence.
Originality/value
While the previous literature mainly focuses on mutual fund characteristics and the macroeconomic determinants of mutual fund returns, this paper demonstrates that investor confidence plays an important role in determining mutual fund performance. The authors attribute this finding to two relatively unique features of the emerging markets in the study. A lack of awareness of mutual funds as being a low-cost investment vehicle and the interplay of cultural and behavioral changes have prevented investor’s savings from being channeled into investment products, away from gold or property.
Details
Keywords
C. Edward Chang, Thomas M. Krueger and H. Doug Witte
The purpose of this paper is to examine the operating characteristics as well as risk and performance measures of all available self-proclaimed socially responsible funds…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the operating characteristics as well as risk and performance measures of all available self-proclaimed socially responsible funds (hereafter SRFs) in the USA over the ten-year (2007–2016) period. The first research question addressed is: Do SRFs perform as well as the average of all mutual funds in their respective categories? The second research question addressed is: Are SRF expense ratios correlated with fund performance?
Design/methodology/approach
This study analyzes all socially responsible equity mutual funds, as self-reported to Morningstar. This paper empirically compares operating characteristics and performance measures of SRFs relative to category averages in the US mutual fund industry. Operating characteristics include expense ratios and annual turnover rates. Performance measures include conventional return, risk and risk-adjusted return measures.
Findings
Although prior research suggests that socially responsible investing (SRI) indexes and SRI-friendly stocks have favorable returns, this study finds that these self-proclaimed SRFs underperform the average of all mutual funds in matched equity categories. However, this study demonstrates that a simple filter based on expense ratios can identify those SRFs that will enable investors to do quite well while doing good.
Originality/value
The contribution of this paper is twofold. First, the authors report that self-proclaimed SRFs, as a whole, have not generated competitive returns relative to other mutual funds in the same categories over the past ten years. This result contradicts the notion that socially responsible investors do not give up return performance when investing with their conscience. Second, the authors find that those SRFs with expense ratios in the lowest quartile of their respective category have significantly higher risk-adjusted returns and significantly lower turnover than category averages. Thus, by focusing on SRFs with low-expense ratios, socially responsible investors can do quite well while doing good.
Details
Keywords
This study aims to comprehensively examine sustainable mutual funds (SMFs) research by conducting a systematic literature review and bibliometric analysis of articles spanning…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to comprehensively examine sustainable mutual funds (SMFs) research by conducting a systematic literature review and bibliometric analysis of articles spanning 33 years from 1991 to 2023. This review seeks to uncover the principal contributors and the structural framework of knowledge within the realm of business, finance and management research concerning SMFs.
Design/methodology/approach
Following the “Scientific Procedures and Rationales for Systematic Literature Reviews (SPAR-4-SLR)” methodology, the author selected 597 documents for the analysis and collected the bibliographic information from the Scopus database. The author uses RStudio and VOSviewer software to address five research questions.
Findings
The findings indicate a notable expansion in research concerning SMFs within high-quality journals over the last 33 years. The review illuminates the principal contributors in SMFs research by using performance analysis based on journal, article, author, country and institution criteria. By using science mapping techniques, the author identifies five prevailing themes and outlines future research prospects in the domain of SMFs.
Practical implications
This review paper can serve as a roadmap for future researchers, aiding them in discerning the trending research topics within this domain.
Originality/value
To the best of the author’s knowledge, this is the first study that comprehensively provides an overview of different variants, diverse strands and research hotspots of SMFs literature. The study offers insight into the evolution of SMFs, showcasing their progression from a segmented market to a prominently specialized domain in the contemporary landscape.
Details
Keywords
Heidi Siller and Margarethe Hochleitner
The predicted doctors’ shortage in Austria and the increasing feminisation of the medical profession are aspects of a passionate debate on gender inequality in medical careers and…
Abstract
The predicted doctors’ shortage in Austria and the increasing feminisation of the medical profession are aspects of a passionate debate on gender inequality in medical careers and particularly on sufficient medical care in Austria. Therefore, this review summarises main findings on gender inequality in medical careers in Austria using an intersectional lens.
The intersections derived from literature elucidate that gender inequality is not predominantly dependent on having a family including children, but that various combinations of these intersections influence women’s careers.
There is a need to further investigate intersections influencing medical careers in women and to relate these to affirmative action measures. Affirmative action measures need quotas and consideration of various areas besides work–family balance. There is a need to evaluate and adapt interventions to promote women in medicine according to the intersections derived from the literature.
Details
Keywords
Most personnel and OD reading audiences, although prominent for their general silence on the subject, are finally becoming aware of the faddish nature of their “profession”. Many…
Abstract
Most personnel and OD reading audiences, although prominent for their general silence on the subject, are finally becoming aware of the faddish nature of their “profession”. Many are rightfully embarrassed if asked to explain what happened to the great panaceas of Theory Y, Grid Management, Life Cycle Theory, Sensitivity Training, Dual‐Factor Theory, MBO, Theory Z and Quality Circles. And those who lower their profiles when such questions are asked begin to get hostile when pressed for an answer to the question “If they were such wondrous elixirs when introduced, on what bases have they been discarded?” An honest answer would have to be akin to one I was given by a top manager at Union Carbide when his corporation dissolved their nine‐man OD department at corporate headquarters in 1969: “We don't issue news releases highlighting our goof‐ups.”